


The Cell

by shutendouji



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, Horror, Japanese Folklore, Japanese Mythology - Freeform, Oni, Paranormal, Revenge, Shinto, Tengu, Youkai, Yôkai, dreams are weird, prisons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2019-01-04 04:29:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12161553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shutendouji/pseuds/shutendouji
Summary: An oni wakes up in a cell with a pain in her head and no memory how she got there. Based on a dream I had last night.





	The Cell

_Are you with us or not?_

I shuddered and opened my eyes, then closed them immediately. Everything was so bright, so over-stimulating. Did I have a hangover? What happened last night?

I did have a pounding headache. I rubbed my head for a moment, noticing that it felt like I had been smacked on the back of my head with something blunt, like a frying pan. I felt like I may have a mild concussion.

But I had to figure out where I was. I forced my eyes open and checked my surroundings. Everything was white—the light screaming in from the tall windows, the columns that reached to the towering ceilings, even the marble floor I was laying on.

I _was_ laying directly on the floor in a pool of blood. I scampered to my feet, noticing that my loose kimono was torn and caked with blood. Whether or not it was mine or someone else’s, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I dusted off the dried blood off of the silk fabric to the best of my ability. Some of it peeled like half-dried paint, curling when it hit the open air before collapsing to the shiny ground in tiny brown flakes.

The floor was so white, so pearly, so clean that I could see my reflection in it. A small oni, badly bruised and beat up, came into view. Her hair, close-cropped and red, was standing in all directions, an absolute disaster. One of her horns looked as though it had a crack in it, but it could be a trick of the light. I instinctively reached for my right horn, feeling its branchy length, and came up empty. I was okay.

In this reflection, though, I noticed that I was behind bars. I came up to the edge of my cell and rattled the white bars, my blood-caked hands tainting the purity of my prison. They didn’t budge. I tried to fit between the bars, but I was too wide.

I heard a voice echo from the other end of the building. Was I in a prison? What was this place? I shouted, “Help!” to see if I could get the speaker’s attention.

The voice stopped, and tiny footsteps grew louder as they approached my cell. The speaker was a little girl clutching a white, fluffy dog, who barked when he saw me.

The girl’s black hair was in tight ringlets, her skin a deep brown, her features looking like those native to Japan, the Ainu. She was clad in a red-and-white outfit like a shrine maiden.

“Can you help me?” I asked, in Japanese.

She tilted her head. “I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,” she said. She seemed unfazed by my appearance, but she was a child, and children rarely reacted poorly to my kind. They had seen much more horrifying youkai than myself, I was sure.

“You’re talking to a stranger right now,” I replied. “If you’ve already broken one rule, why not run with it and keep breaking the rules? Why are they there in the first place?”

She nodded in agreement. “What’s your name?”

I thought for a moment, my head pounding. How could I forget my own name? I eyed the surroundings for clues, and sure enough, the hiragana for “shu,” “te,” and “n” were scribbled on the back wall, bloody fingerprints in its wake. A dagger laid on the ground. I had clearly tried to write my name on the wall with a dagger.

“Shuten,” I said. It sounded correct.

Her eyes widened. “I’m definitely not supposed to be talking to you,” she decided, then, clutching her dog, walked away.

“Wait!” I shouted, my voice coming out much louder than I intended.

The girl jumped, dropping her dog, who came over to the cell, clawing on the bars. I petted him through the bars. He was soft and gentle, and tried to lick the blood off of my hands.

“He likes you,” she said, her voice almost inclined in a question. “He would’ve reacted poorly to you if you were bad…”

“Please help me get out of here,” I pleaded.

She thought for a moment, tapping her chin. “Okay. I’ll try to see if I can find a key or something.”

I bowed. “Thank you so much. I’m indebted to you.”

She bowed in return, a small smile on her face.

“What’s your name, child?” I asked.

“Kagami,” she said. “Fujiwara Kagami.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Fujiwara, huh? That’s an important name.”

She blushed. “I don’t think I’m related to the royal Fujiwaras. I live in this tiny town with my grandmother. I don’t have any other relatives.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m nine. Why?”

Suddenly feeling rather old, being over a millennium older than her, I replied, “Just curious. You’re young enough to not be off-put by my appearance, but old enough to talk like a grown-up. Almost,” I added with some thought.

She fidgeted with her fingernails. “My grandmother says your people are dangerous. You’re an oni, right?”

“Of course.”

“And your name is Shuten…I’ve heard of an oni with that name, but in the stories, he was a boy…he kidnapped women and ate people and whatnot.” She lifted her eyes. “I don’t think those stories are true.”

“I’ll definitely tell you the truth if you let me out.”

She grinned. “Deal!” And she ran off, in search of a key.

I sat on the ground, waiting patiently. If this was a prison, it seems to have been abandoned, since Kagami was the only person around. But also, if it was a prison, there must be other prisoners…

Kagami came back rather quickly, curls bouncing, her dog following. “I found a ring of keys,” she said. “It might take me a while, but I’ll try them all out. It might take a second.”

“I’m not exactly going anywhere. I’ve got all the time in the world,” I replied with an incline of my head.

“I don’t,” she said. “I’m a miko, see. I work at the shrine down that way.” She pointed. Seeing my quirked eyebrow, she added, “Well, miko-in-training. My grandmother is training me. There’s a festival going on.”

“If there’s a festival going on, then why are you in here? And what is this place?”

Kagami shrugged. “This building has been here forever. I was told by my grandmother that this has been here for thousands of years and was built by the kami of this area. Because of that, ordinary humans are banned from going in.”

“But you’re no ordinary girl, are you, Kagami-chan?”

With that, the lock clicked, and the cell door swung open.

“No.” She beamed. “I’m not.”

I stretched and walked out of the cell, taking in my surroundings. Without warning, I embraced the girl. She emitted a tiny squeak, then hugged me back, her hands hesitant.

“I won’t hurt you,” I promised. “I swear to you, no harm will come to you or your family.”

She nodded with a tiny, “Hmm!”

“So what were you doing in here?”

Kagami flushed. “I was looking for candles. My grandmother and I started using this building as a way to store things we can’t keep in the main storehouse. Come see!”

I followed the mysterious miko to the storage area. “If this building has been here for thousands of years, built by kami, it’s awfully Western, don’t you think?”

Kagami shrugged. “I’ve learned not to question the kami.”

I frowned. “That’s a rather…wise thing for a girl your age to say.”

She shook her head, disagreeing. “Here they are!”

I followed Kagami into a tiny room, where she pulled out some candles. “My grandmother likes lighting candles in our house during the festival times for protection. Would you like to help?”

I nodded.

“You’re not much bigger than me, either. I bet we can find you some new clothes.”

“That would be amazing.”

I followed Kagami out of the mysterious building, noticing that looked like a tiny barn from the outside. That was when I realized what Kagami was saying—the building _itself_ was a youkai. No wonder common humans couldn’t go inside! They’d be destroyed.

It wasn’t a very long walk to Kagami’s house, but it was uphill, and I was barefoot. The sun shrouded us in a humid heat, and I lowered my kimono, revealing my sarashi. Kagami blushed and averted her eyes, quickly walking ahead so as not to see too much of me.

When we arrived to her house, a tiny thing hidden by the trees and protected by its own torii, I saw an old woman sweeping the steps to the house. She looked up and waved. “It’s about time you came back, Kagami-chan!”

“I brought a friend!” she said.

Her grandmother noticed me then, dropping her broom. I fell into a bow, suddenly noticing that I was directly underneath the torii. I collapsed, dizzy until I saw nothing.

 

\--

_I felt so much taller, so much more powerful in my geta. I was already tiny, especially for an oni, and as the oni leader, I wanted to be taken seriously._

_My Four, the strong warriors I had appointed to be in charge of our clan, were all busy with the celebration. Tora busied herself with entertaining the human men who were entranced by a youkai party, rubbing herself on them and whispering sweet nothings in their ear. The twins, Kanaka and Kira, were inseparable, pouring sake for the guests. Only Hoshi stayed by my side, her muscular arm linked with mine._

_“Someone’s coming,” Hoshi said, her blue eyes wide in fear. “Humans. Sent to kill us.” Hoshi was the biggest of all of us, a terrifying warrior head and shoulders taller than me, more buff than half the bandits I encountered on the roads._

_“Where’s my kanabou?” I asked her._

_“Didn’t you leave it upstairs?”_

_I cursed, running for it. I wasn’t going to let our little celebration go without a fight. I ran up the stairs, blood boiling as I heard Tora’s war cry and the sickening screams of death. My people wanted peace. We wanted to celebrate life in the safety of this house, a youkai itself. After all, it was midsummer, and all spirits had the right to celebrate._

_I slid down the banister—I was sure it wasn’t there before—kanabou in hand, ready to kill. The people of this region seemed to have the philosophy, “speak softly and carry a big stick,” but I found yelling and carrying a kanabou to be even more effective, because I crushed them to pieces with ease._

_That was, until I saw her. Ibaraki. She had us fooled for years, pretending to be an oni, negotiating a marriage between us for power. When she had abused me one too many times, I managed to reveal her true form as a tengu, and presented her before the leading youkai of the entirety of Japan, getting her excommunicated from my clan. And now she was back with an army of…humans?_

_“Are you so much of a coward you won’t fight with your own kind?” I asked her, blocking her katana with my kanabou. “Instead, you choose to brainwash men into fighting for your cause.”_

_“I don’t need to brainwash them for them to realize that you all are evil and need to be cleansed from this world. How will this village be safe with your presence here?”_

_“They were safe until you showed your face around here!” I shouted. I shook, feeling my other form beginning to surface. Ibaraki brought so much anger forth within me, so much pure hatred. How dare she trick our kind? How dare she think she’s doing the right thing?_

_Something hit the back of my head, mid-transformation, and I fell…_

 

\--

“Shuten?”

I coughed and awoke, discovering immediately that I was in a sort of bath. Kagami and her grandmother towered over me, her grandmother desperately trying to wash blood out of my hair.

“What happened?” I asked, my voice raspy.

“You fainted,” her grandmother said. “And as expected. This area began respecting a kami who wants you dead.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Wait, what?”

“This village dedicates its shrine to Ibaraki.”

I rolled my eyes. “There’s so much they don’t know.”

“No, I know. She tricked your clan into thinking she was one of you while plotting to destroy Ooeyama.”

I blanched. “How did you know that?”

She smirked. “You talk in your sleep.” She poured some water over my head to rinse the soap out. “Is it alright if I wash these too?” She gestured toward my horns.

I nodded. “Just be careful.”

“I always am.”

It was quite relaxing, having her wash them, and it sent vibrations of almost pleasure throughout my spine. My eyes instinctively closed as she chuckled lightly.

“Can’t say I have ever done this before.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” I was almost half-asleep, my Oni accent coming through thicker than ever.

“So tell me,” she said as she rinsed me. “Are you really Shuten-douji?”

“Oni don’t lie.” I opened one eye. “I swear to you, I am who I say I am.”

She nodded. “This is a truly eye-opening experience. Ibaraki always presented herself as a tengu to me. I had no idea she would deceive people like she has you, and I’m really sorry.”

I frowned. “You’re apologizing to an oni?”

“Of course.”

“So this village…they used their love for Ibaraki as an excuse to destroy our midsummer celebration?”

She nodded. “I have always banned them from entering that dangerous building. But I guess Ibaraki can be rather convincing. Of course, I had no idea any of this happened.” She motioned for me to stand. “Let’s free your comrades.”

I almost collapsed. “My sisters-in-arms are in the building?”

“Ibaraki managed to bend the building to her will, creating cells for all the oni. Kagami told me.”

It was then when Kagami decided to depart the bathroom, her grandmother grabbing her by the collar.

“Tell Shuten what you saw.”

“I went exploring in the building and I found four more of your kind imprisoned upstairs. They didn’t want to be freed until they saw that you were safe.”

“Then let’s go!” I tripped over the edge of the bathtub.

The family laughed. I did, too, partially because I was still so bewildered at everything that was going on. A village who had been paying their respects to Ibaraki all these years was now switching to my side? Surprises surely never ceased…

 

\--

Kagami was right. Tora, Kanaka, Kira, and Tora all sat together in a cell upstairs. When they saw me, they jumped to their feet and reached outside of their cell, yelling in our language.

“One at a time,” I said, in Oni. “What happened?”

It was Hoshi, my girlfriend, who spoke first. “Ibaraki’s men—”

“—They were _really_ rough with you,” Tora interjected.

Hoshi elbowed her. “They raped you while you were unconscious. Ibaraki told them that you were dangerous, so they kept you separate from us. They moved you downstairs. I heard you crying, but we were trapped in here…” Hoshi then burst into tears. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “The miko of this region have been more than kind.”

“But they honor Ibaraki!” Tora protested, fists clenched. Hoshi was far bigger than her, but Tora was more terrifying when angry, her black mohawk almost flaring with anger as her eyes lit up with a dangerous fire.

“Can we trust them?” the twins asked simultaneously.

“I think we can.”

Kagami found the key to unlock the cell then, and I motioned for her to move out of the way as they tackled me, Hoshi pressing aggressive kisses all over all my bruises and scrapes. Kagami giggled as her grandmother covered her eyes.

Kagami’s grandmother cleared her throat. “If you five will get up, let’s do something about the truth, shall we?”

Hoshi stood first, being the most aggressive in her honesty. Tora followed, licking her lips with her thirst for revenge against Ibaraki. The twins helped each other up, and once they were standing, helped me to my feet.

“Today is the human midsummer festival. I am going to present you five at our shrine. Those who dissent will be imprisoned with their evil leader, and this area will be at peace and in the name of Shuten.”

I flushed and bowed. “You really don’t need to—”

“I insist.” The woman smiled and petted my head. “I sense a kindness about you. I would rather our village represent the fierce benevolence of your kind than the dishonesty of Ibaraki.”

“I like that you said Ibaraki, not tengu,” Kira piped up. When everyone looked at her, she lowered her head and blushed, hiding behind locks of blue hair.

“I think,” Kanaka finished for her, “that my sister means that not all tengu are like Ibaraki.”

“That’s rich,” Hoshi hissed, “coming from girls who haven’t been _imprisoned_ by tengu.”

“We have now!” Kira shot back.

“You weren’t forced into years of servitude, then,” Tora argued. “You just had to sit here for a night.”

The grandmother raised her hand, and my warriors all went silent. “Let the festivities begin, shall we?”

 

\--

Kagami’s grandmother was true to her word. She spoke to the village of how cruel they had been to my people, of how they were serving a false leader, of how Ibaraki was turning them into cruel people. There was arguing, throwing fruit, and one person even tried to take down ever-so-shy Kira, but her twin smacked him on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious.

“Let’s allow Shuten to address us,” the grandmother said with a bow, handing me the mic.

“Um,” I said, ever-so-eloquently. “Hi.”

I was met with deafening silence.

“I am Shuten-douji. I could rattle on about my titles, but that’s boring as shit, so here I am. I’m just a person. I’m not human, but I’m just as much self-aware and emotional as you.” I frowned. “Maybe more so, actually. I’m a nature spirit.” I scanned the fields of citizens as they all stared at me, unblinking. A small child pointed to my horns. “Let’s get to the point, then. Parents, cover your children’s ears.”

The mothers and fathers in the audience obliged, some even covering their eyes. Even Kagami covered her ears.

My eyes narrowed. “Which of you were the men who raped and imprisoned me?”

The audience murmured to each other, but no one came forward.

“You know, the biggest virtue of my kind is honesty. We like people who own up to their mistakes. But seems that you have learned from the worst liar of them all.” I sighed. “My people and I were imprisoned by tengu, almost a thousand years ago. They made us manual labor slaves, sex slaves, general servants, because they viewed us as less intelligent. All brawn, no brain.

“A woman who called herself Ibaraki pretended to be an oni. My adopted daughter was being abused in her hostage situation, and so Ibaraki promised to lead a rebellion on our behalf. Of course, it was me who led the rebellion. Me and my lovely girlfriend over there.” I gestured toward Hoshi, who gave a polite bow. “When the battle began, Ibaraki was nowhere to be found. She claimed to have killed many tengu, but…you all know that Ibaraki was a tengu, right? She’s full of shit.

“When my clan on Ooeyama was founded, Ibaraki was still pretending to be an oni. I was forced to marry her.” I shook my head. “She was abusive, cruel, and dishonest. I knew something was wrong. One time, when she was raping me, she revealed her true form, and I knew, as soon as I saw her wings, she had deceived us. So I presented her to the High Youkai Council in Kyoto. Back when it was in Kyoto. I’m old.” I laughed lightly.

“Ibaraki was excommunicated. It was revealed that she knew that the tengu’s regime was falling apart, so she knew they had to surrender for a while. She thought that if she killed us off in our sleep, then the tengu would have the upper hand. She knew the best way to defeat oni was through trickery, because, in the world of oni, there are no lies. Just to let this sink in further…” I removed the thick choker I kept tied around my neck, noticing Hoshi averting her eyes. There was a rather dark, nasty scar going around my neck. “She was the reason I was decapitated. I survived, though.”

The audience gasped. A few vomited at how grotesque the sight was.

“So. I don’t want any war. I don’t care for the feud between species. We are all one people on this earth, as far as I’m concerned, so long as we can respect each other. But if you are going to imprison, rape, and torture each other, then you have no place here.” I cleared my throat. “So, I’ll ask again. Which of you…were the men…who raped and imprisoned me?”

No one stepped forward.

I grinned. “Hoshi? Tora? You know what to do.”

Hoshi cracked her knuckles. Tora brandished her wakizashi.

“You made the mistake of doing so in front of their prison cell, didn’t you? And Hoshi and Tora have the longest memories out of all of us. They will be able to identify you on sight, and then? You will be our prisoners.”

The audience screamed, and groups of men tried to run as Hoshi and Tora fought them off, beating them into submission.

“Let’s take the children into the shrine, shall we? We must protect them from such violence.”

I helped the children and Kagami into the shrine, where they would be safe. I saw a father try to go in, but I slammed the door shut. “I know you’re guilty because of the way Hoshi is looking at you.”

He blanched, then went unconscious as Hoshi punched him in the back of the neck. “What do we do with their bodies?”

“Lock them up for now. I’ll decide later…”

 

\--

I awoke with the sound of a raven outside my window. It was 9:15 in the morning. My fiancée was probably home, making breakfast. I decided to check, and if she wasn’t, I would start it myself.

I shook off the strange dream feeling, feeling my horns. Was this a memory, or a Prozac-induced fever dream?

It didn’t matter. I had a long day ahead of me…


End file.
